Ingredients:
1 large bunch kale, stems and center ribs discarded
½ cup chopped walnuts
3 Tbs vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic (1 clove elephant garlic), finely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:
1) Tear kale into large pieces, then cook in a large pot of well-salted boiling water, uncovered, until tender, about 6 minutes.

2) Drain kale. When cool enough to handle, press out excess liquid.

3) Cook walnuts in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 5 minutes.

4) Stir in garlic. Cook garlic and walnuts, stirring constantly, until very fragrant, about 1 minute.

5) Add kale and salt and pepper to taste and cook, tossing, until heated through and slightly wilted.

Serve kale warm or at room temperature. Garnish with additional chopped walnuts.

 My experience with food procurement has shown that usually the fruit and vegetable items in my shopping cart amount to about one third our total food budget. So if you are spending $120.00/month on produce, you would be coming in average if your total food budget was around $360.00/month.  That’s below what my husband and I spend, for just the two of us.

 Granted, not all of your produce needs are coming in your weekly box, but for us, it definitely is the lion’s share of our vegetable matter.  So how does this save you money?

 The produce itself is about the same price you would pay at the Farmer’s market.  Money saver #1: Since you yourself are not going to the farmer’s market to shop, you are only spending $30.00 (the price of the box) instead of the $50.00 or more you could spend purchasing impulsive items, like the almond brittle and Quark Lemon Cheese.  You also save on time and gas by not going to the Farmers market (don’t get me wrong, I love the Farmers market and think everyone should go when they can!).

 Money saver #2:  You can spend less time going to grocery stores, again saving money on impulse buys.  When you have a box of produce, you create meals around the items in the box.  This means that as long as you have staple items on your shelves at home, you don’t need to run to the store.  Research shows that most people shop without a list, and end up purchasing way more than they had anticipated.  The less time you spend in stores, the more money you save.

 Money saver #3:  You will be inspired to cook.  Getting creative with your box contents is very rewarding, in many ways.  Not only are you feeding you and your family well, you are saving money on eating out!  And I’m not just talking about dinner.  Inevitably there will be leftovers from the meals you prepare, which can turn into lunches that can be taken to work. 

 Here’s a list of staple items from Alice Water’s book, The Art of Simple Food.  Have these items on hand, and you will spend less time grocery shopping and more time preparing wonderful foods for your family and friends. 

Karen Palmer, our newest Team Member

We are pleased to introduce Karen Palmer, our newest Santa Rosa Hills CSA team member. Karen will be helping us grow the business by signing up new members and providing outstanding customer service.

Karen moved to Santa Ynez Valley over 20 years ago. She is very involved in the community and has coordinated Earth Day in Solvang for the past 10 years. She is an active volunteer in the local public schools and an advocate for environmental education.

Karen is also an active member of WE Watch the Women’s Environmental group and is working on helping the public schools have healthier lunches. She has been explaining to people the benefits of buying organic products for many years and is very excited to work with Santa Rosa Hills CSA to share with the community this amazing new service and community asset.

Welcome to the team!

David and Pamela were fortunate to move onto the ranch last spring. They have been looking for opportunities that would connect them with the land, agriculture, community and local foods. The C.S.A. is a perfect fit.

Pamela’s passion for organic and local foods developed back in the early 1980′s, when she attended Humboldt State University in Arcata, Ca. She owned “Organic Planet Catering” for several years, purchasing from farmers and cooking for Yoga Retreats, Wilderness Youth Project and Quail Springs Permaculture Learning Center (nickname, “Pambow”).  For the last two and a half years she has been working with the s’Cool Food Initiative, teaching school cooks the art and skill of cooking real food from scratch.  Pamela’s passion lies in the solutions that the local food movement has to offer the planet.

David is a field biologist who works on preserving and restoring the environment. He spent summers and weekends as a child at Rancho La Vina and has a deep connection to the land.  To live and work on the family’s ranch is truely a dream come true.

Together, we are excited to offer you a wide array of local foods.  We aspire to strengthen our local economy as well as our community by delivering farm fresh produce  to customers who know the value of sustainably produced local foods, but are not able to shop regularly at the farmer’s markets.  We are working to increase our offerings of “extra” items that may be ordered each week in addition to the regular box, knowing that we can simultaneously increase our customer satisfaction, while also supporting our local food artisans.  We welcome your suggestions!